Many navigation applications provide precise locating and tracking of objects when necessary. For example, unmanned vehicles, such as an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), require accurate position information in order to properly navigate an area. Most of these navigation applications employ one or more global positioning system (GPS) sensors to achieve a necessary level of precision.
The use of GPS, however, has some limitations. For example, the GPS signals may not be available in a desired location where satellite communication is blocked or scrambled. In addition, the GPS sensors do not obtain any local features of the area (for example, any additional surrounding objects or landmarks within the area) relative to the location of the vehicle. To date, tracking any localized features requires additional synchronization time in instances where accurate measurements within a minimal time period are critical.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for improvements in range measurements and object position tracking.